Answered by:

Windows 7 XP mode looses password

Question

XP mode has reset/forgot my logon details. I had previously removed the password in the virtual pc control panel and enabled guest account and had used xpmode for a month with no problems. One day when i booted it up it asked me to log on which was strange as it always loads up straight to the desktop usually. The user name it brought up was XPMUser and no password i tried worked. Also the guest account was disabled. I tried the username/password combination I set up when installing xpmode with no sucess. Using the username XPMUser no password I tried works. I have tried: admin, user, administrator, the password i set up originally with xpmode and my host PC password. I tried the previous passwords in combination with usernames: admin, administrator, user and my host pc username. When i tried the username Administrator it said "Your account has been disabled. Please see your system administrator "

I cannot log on to XP mode. It seems to have defaulted to some built in password. Is there any way to get into it or do I have to reinstall xpmode and loose everything?

EDIT: Sorted! if anyone else has this problem, click on settings and disable integration features then use username XPMUser without a password and that will log you on

Answers

As you said, we can disable Integration Features to show it as a general virtual machine so that we can log on the user account. Meanwhile, Administrator account is disabled by default, we can enable it now incase we need to log on it next time.

All replies

As you said, we can disable Integration Features to show it as a general virtual machine so that we can log on the user account. Meanwhile, Administrator account is disabled by default, we can enable it now incase we need to log on it next time.

I am having the exact same problem described by lauriewsmith, but disabling Integration Features is not working for me. I never gave XPMUser a password, but when I leave it blank, it still will not log me on. Any other suggestions?

Then I did a fresh install of Windows 7 Ultimate using my new retail copy and now that I have installed XP Model and Virtual PC on my new Windows 7 install, I fired up my XP Mode image and it booted great and even saw all of my installed apps like Office but it won't log in with the username and password it used to have! I tried disabling the integration features but that made no difference. After I installed XP Mode onto my new system I ran it once to get everything going and set what I thought was the same password as I had on my old box before I copied over my backed up directories too!

Any ideas?! I backed it up because I had a TON of super important stuff for work!

Thanks!

Alex

EDIT: Just to be clear, I was running Windows 7 RTM with the RC of XP Mode, now I'm running a fresh install of 7 RTM but with XP Mode RTM. Maybe I should not have run XP Mode after install before pasting back my backed up directories?

After my original problem (see post 1) It worked when I used username XPMUser and a blank password. After logging on I thought it best to create a password this time. So I did and no problems- it logs in in the background using the credentials you've saved so you never see the logon screen.

However a week ago when I started xp mode, it brought up the logon screen. When i tried my password and username (which I know are correct this time!) it refused to log on. So I did what i did last time, that is: Disable integration features and log on with XMPUser username and blank password. Except it didn't work this time. What I eventually found worked was: Disable integration features, log on with XPMUser username but use the password you were using previously.

So if you cant log on, either:

If you didn't set up a password or removed your password then: Disable integration features and log on with XPMUser username and blank password.

If you do have a password you've been using sucessfully then: Disable integration features, log on with XPMUser username but use the password you were using previously.

If you were using a password but forgot it then I don't know any way round that. Hope it'll be of some help!

I had the exact same problem and none of the suggestions were working. So this is what I did and it worked!

1. Reboot in to safe mode 2. Log in with the administrator and no password 3. Go into users accounts 4. Create a new admin account with a password. 5. Exit out and reboot in normal mode. 6. Login using your new account name and password. 7. Good luck!!!!

This worked for me. Thanks trgarza. xp vm had lost password. I locked out the admin account trying to guess it. logged into safe mode as administrator with no pass, created new admin, reset administrator password. fixed.

I had the same problem, with xp mode and also other vitual machines, installed with XP SP4 from CD and activate.

It's right that is it impossible to run Integration Features with a virtual machine without password.

On my physical and all virtual computers, the installed keyboard is french-swiss.

The Integrated Features login window use an other keyboard, so that the tipped password is not the same as the virtual machine.For example :on french-swiss keyboard : taste <<a>> is <<q>> on french or english keyboard. Taste <<0>> (number) is <<à>> and must be tipped with shift.

Thanks, you saved me many hours. I needed a user with good credentials and could not find the XPMUser password. I added another user and password. It didn't work (could not pass the XP login) and when I went back to XPMUser the VM kept requiring me to enter a password. I never created one in the first place.

I have the same problem discribed by others. None of the proposed solutions work for me. Just a few variables. My xp mode opens as a full screen with tab at the top. There is no Tools option on tab. No Settings option either. No access for changing Integration Feature. I get an initial login with the ID filled in and Password in faint type. Password typed in gives me access to a second login requirement. No combination of my usual IDs and passwords works. The use of XPMuser does not work. I am totally frustrated and ready to uninstall and start over. However, I do not want just a repeat of my current problem. pacerbflpacerbfl

Only one hint, to get the tools menu, switch from
full screen to windowed mode by clicking on the "Exit full screen" button on the
right of that bar. It's the middle of the three buttons on the right and
it looks like 2 windows stuck together kind of.

After that the tools menu will show.

I don't know about the password other than you have
to actually assign a real password for the integration components to work, a
blank password is not allowed.

On my the user ID and password prompt from WVPC
comes up before the VM screen comes up and if you click cancel to that, the
screen then comes up with the OS login and you can change it to windowed or full
screen your choice.

I too just ran in to the problem of the Credential Manager somehow not working with XP Mode. I verified that the Credential Manager does have an entry for the XPMUser, however for some reason or another, it is not being auto-entered when I start up the VM.

Unfortunately, I was put in to a severely false sense of "security" when I noticed the nice checkbox saying that it would remember the credentials for me when I was first typing in the password for the XPMUser account during the XP Mode setup. I figured, awesome, it's going to remember it for me! So, I used a random password generator and just created some random password. I figured I would never need to know it since it would remember it for me! WRONG!

There is a fix however! I was able to recover my apparently lost cause by doing the usual steps you should take if you had forgotten your account password...

1) Edit the settings of the VM, and change the close behavior to "Shutdown" (only required if your VM isn't shut down currently).

2) Open your VM, and if you can click on the Shutdown button at the login window, do so - pick Restart.

3) Continually hit F8 as it is "rebooting". If you do it right, you should get the usual Safe Mode boot choices.

4) Pick the first choice - Safe Mode.

5) At the login screen, type in Administrator for the username, no password - you will log in unless you purposefully somehow set a password on the Administrator account. If you've forgotten this password - you're going to have to use special programs to recover the password which I won't cover here.

6) Once logged in, go to the Control Panel and select Users & Groups. Click the XPMUser account and select Remove Password (or you can reset it - up to you).

7) Reboot once again (don't forget to change the settings for the VM back to Hibernate)

That should be it. Next time, I'll remember the password... they should *REALLY* tell you to pick a password you will remember.

I believe I just found out why the Credential Manager wasn't auto-logging the XPMUser account on... I had recently changed the Workgroup name of the XP Mode VM because I required the VM to have access to my LAN (and I wanted it to have a proper name). It seems the Credential Manager identifies the XPMUser account credentials with the Workgroup name included, which would explain why it would be unable to log on with the stored account (since it was logging in to an invalid Workgroup name).

However, my proposed solution above still holds as a viable solution if you can't remember what the account password is and you're locked out.

I have the same problem as above - my XP Mode now insists I log on with a user name & password. Unlike some of the above, this came out of the blue when I tried to open an XP-Mode app I had opened many times. I had never seen any
logon screen - I just double clicked on the app, XP Mode opened silently, and there I was. I never entered a user name or password for XP - I have one on Win 7. I also did open the XPMode directly - no problems until now.

I had added another 2 Gig of memory - 4 total, Win 7 32 bit - but not changed anything like domain names. I really don't recall if I used XP Mode after adding memory. I followed your steps above, I cleared the XPMode user password. was able
to open XP mode & the app I needed. However, I could only see my boot drive & data drive, none of the other drives.

But after closing, I am back to ground zero. I open XP Mode, I get the "Log On to Windows" screen, which as noted I had never seen before. I entered XPMUser, no password, and get the Logon Message "Unable to log you on because of an account restriction.

Incidentally, if I go to what I think is the right file, Windows XP Mode.vmcx, right click & select settings, I note "Logon Credentials" value is None, Integration features are Auto Enable.

As you likely guessed, I have none of the knowledge to work out what you did, although I can follow instructions. I just want to use my XP apps. Any help to get me back to where I was, short of re-installing everything including of course the
apps, will be appreciated.

Bob Comer: while I am trying to log in, I cannot get anything on that top tool bar to work excpept the exit cross. The double window to reduce from full screen does not function whilst the login box is still unanswered. Can microsoft not remove
the account functions from the Virtual version of XP so as to avoid this hassle. Windows 7 security will cover the security issues for the pc?

How do I get into integrated functions to turn them off? Can it be accessed from Windows 7 control panel?? Can anyone help please?

As stated how do I access settings in vm mode when the page will not respond due to the login box? I cannot reduce the page to smaller window as nothing responds whilst password is not typed in. This is my problem. I would reduce the page if I could. Is
there any other way of accessing VM settings?

For now the problem is fixed as I restarted the PC in safe mode and cancelled the virtual account in user accounts. I then rebooted the pc in normal mode and started XP mode, the login box appeared but all I did was click ok and it opened. Hopefully, with
no password and the integrated settings now disabled, I will have no further problems. This has been a good learning curve and thanks to all who have supplied ideas above. I am wiser!

Post Script (July 20th 2010):

I now run virtual machine with no passwords and with full integration. Boxes appear and I cancel the first one and click ok on the second which states the user as XPMUSER. I enter no passwords and have no accounts set either in 7 Pro or XP mode. I have
worked this way without any problems for months now and complete with the latest download from microsoft. I run a wireless Cannon printer linked into 7 Pro from virtual XP. I also run Word 2000 on XP mode and Word 2007 on 7 Pro with out hindrance.

For me, when I locked the screen of the VM and had no idea what password I had set (did I even set one??), I noted that clicking 'X" in the the floating RDP type toolbar, which hibernates the virtual machine, and then simply starting XP mode again, was
enough to sort me out as on waking from hibernation it auto logged me back in, exactly where I was, in the middle of writing code that I had not yet saved.... :)

I have been using XP mode for a few days and it always logged me in automatically. Well, this time I accidentely used the "log out" button and then when logging back in it showed the login window and wanted a password, which I don't remember.
So, I went to C:Users/USERNAME/App Data/Local/Microsoft/Windows Virtual PC/Virtual Machines/Windows XP Mode (Virtual Machines Settings File) which has the same icon as when you usually start up. Clicked on this and it started right up as usual and did not
ask for password. Replaced my desktop icon with a shortcut icon to this file and now I'm back to normal! : )

Before rebuilding, you might try restoring a previous version of the XP mode Virtual PC. I tried to right click on the instance under "Manage Virtual Machines" but it would not work until I navigated to C:\users\you \AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows
Virtual PC\Virtual Machines\ and restored both the .vhd and .vmc files.

I had the exact same problem and none of the suggestions were working. So this is what I did and it worked!

1. Reboot in to safe mode
2. Log in with the administrator and no password
3. Go into users accounts
4. Create a new admin account with a password.
5. Exit out and reboot in normal mode.
6. Login using your new account name and password.
7. Good luck!!!!

Geez, what a PITA! I just had same problem as many have recounted above. Disabling Integration Features let me get back in, but why oh why does it do this to us in the first place? I legitimately went in and changed password when I first set up XP Mode,
and it worked fine the first time. Then locked me out after that.

Also, I find that I NEED the Integration Features, as I need to access my user files in Windows 7, but I can't see them when Integration is turned off!

New question: How can I get XP Mode to automatically login to a different Username than XPMuser? I'd like it to just login directly to the other Username, without stopping to ask for the password, if possible.

I'm still getting this frustrating problem today, over a year since the original post above. Has Microsoft released an update I can install? Or am going to need to fool around with passwords and troubleshoot Windows XP whenever I need to test/run something
under XP, which is infrequently enough for me to forget what I did last time to get it working!

Bill: thanks a million for this...when I rebooted and the logon box came up with the XPMUser, I entered a new password, and whalah! Of course as you recommended, i wrote down the password (cause I probably will forget again) and printed these
instrutions in case I have this problem again. With windows wiping out my original password. Perhaps the passwords expire. Anyway, thanks again! You saved me from a whole new re-install of windows 7 ultimate! mimi

I had the exact same problem and none of the suggestions were working. So this is what I did and it worked!

1. Reboot in to safe mode
2. Log in with the administrator and no password
3. Go into users accounts
4. Create a new admin account with a password.
5. Exit out and reboot in normal mode.
6. Login using your new account name and password.
7. Good luck!!!!

Thomas

This worked, allowing access into the VPC, I did do as this suggestion above said, I also rebooted into the Administrator account ( that had NO password ) then I clicked on the XPMUser and simply selected Remove Password on account, logged off, logged on
as original XPMUser ( again NO password ) and bingo there were my few files and programs... Sweet

1. Reboot in to safe mode
2. Log in with the administrator ( hopefully you left this blank on install... and no password
3. Go into users accounts

Had a similar problem, my solution was slightly different, so I'm posting here in case it can benefit anyone else.

Similar problem -- one day Windows XP mode decided that I needed to provide my password again... I launched one of my Windows XP Mode applications, got some warnings about Windows XP mode needing to close a session before the application could start, then
another warning about "a user is currently logged, will be logged out, data may be lost, etc..." -- said yes both times (nothing really to lose there, only reason I even have XP Mode installed is for printing to my perfectly-good-but-not-supported-in-Win7
HP LaserJet). Anyway, Win XP Mode application started, I closed it, re-started the Win XP Mode VM, and ta-daaa! Everything back to normal :-)

This fixed my problem exactly! I had just recently installed XP Mode, couldn't remember if I had set a password for the XPM User or not, and nothing was working. Logging into safe mode using the Administrator account w/a blank password worked perfectly.
Thank you!

Just wanted to say THANK YOU! for posting this fix. You saved the day for me. I was really in a bind because most of my critical applications including my accounting software live on my VM side and I could not access them. I was in
a pickle to say the least!

A word on how the mess up happened in the first place:

Over on my Win 7 side, I had Facebook open, and my niece sent me a link to her Christmas wish list. It was a .doc file. My Office Products live on my VM side, and when the link tried to open it asked me if I should let it use the something that
sounded like maybe it is the virtual integration feature everyone has been talking about.... I answered yes, and then after that, I was stuck on that stupid logon box where it did not matter what I did for a password, it said it was wrong!

I did not ever have a password for XPMUser, and it always just went right past that box without needing anything, and then suddenly, WHAM! I was stuck there and nothing worked.

So, thank you from the bottom of my much relieved heart! I am up and running again. :-)

Same problem here. I had to search around for the settings until I remembered "When in doubt, right-click". Unchecked that pesky little box that enabled the integration features and it works. (Yes, I know it's an old post, but it WORKS!!).

Ha, I know it has been four years since this answer was posted, but I just wanted to say- Thank You! You saved us! Our Win XP suddenly started asking for a password, and while there are similar instructions around, this was clear and it worked perfectly.
You helped us access some important programs and files that we can now only run in the XP partition.

Great tip. Didn't think of that. Worked out great. Still had to go to user accounts and uncheck (disable account) in XP. that was causing the message "account disabled - see administrator". Set new password and I
was good to go. Thanks, helped greatly.

I had the exact same problem and none of the suggestions were working. So this is what I did and it worked!

1. Reboot in to safe mode
2. Log in with the administrator and no password
3. Go into users accounts
4. Create a new admin account with a password.
5. Exit out and reboot in normal mode.
6. Login using your new account name and password.
7. Good luck!!!!

Thomas

Hi,

Thanks for proposal with Safe Mode.

No need to make new admin account. Just login into Administrator account with no password and reset XPMUser password. ;)

Microsoft is conducting an online survey to understand your opinion of the Technet Web site. If you choose to participate, the online survey will be presented to you when you leave the Technet Web site.